John ruck



NITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BUCK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANOFORTE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 7,308, dated April 28, 1850.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN BUCK, of' the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theConstruction of Pianofortes; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich- Figure l, represents a plan of part of the interior of a squarepiano-forte showing the tuning block. Fig. 2 is a front view of thetuning block. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same. Fig. at represents thetuning block before it is veneered. Fig. 5 is a section of one of thedovetailed bolts or keys used in strengthening the tuning block.

Similar letters have reference to corresponding parts in the severalgures.

My invention consists in constructing the timing blocks of piano-fortesby combining wood and metal in such a manner as to give great firmnessand strength and render them capable of bearing the great strain of thestrings without yielding or losing their shape; and in providing restsor bearings for the strings which will prevent any shaking or jarring.

I construct the tuning blocks of a number of pieces of wood, so arrangedand united as to prevent the liability to warp, and I attach a plate ofmetal to its upper surface having a series of ribs attached to andforming part of the plate, these ribs form the bearings for the stringswhich rest each on the upper side of one of the ribs and pass through ahole in the rib next to it previous to being wound on the tuning pins.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I willproceed to describe its co-nstruction. 1

A, see Figs. 2, 3, and 4, is a slab of any suitable wood in the backedge of' which a r-ecess is cut of the form indicated by a, in Fig. 4.The slab is bent to the curved form seen in the front edge, this iseffected by placing a rest on the front side opposite the recess, andapplying force at the back side near the ends; a wedge or piece of hardwood a, is fitted into the recess and firmly secured by gluing; the backedge is then planed ofil straight and a piece B, is glued on. Diagonalgrooves of dovetail form are then out across the pieces A, and B, ontheir upper and lower sides and the bolts or keys b, Z), are fitted inand secured with glue; each side is then planed off and veneered. Thegrain of the wood in the slab A, running in the .torni of an arch itwill bear a much greater strain than if formed of a straight single slabas in common tuning blocks.

D, is a plate of metal having a series of ribs cl, d, (Z, cast on itsupper side, each rib is provided with one or more holes l, which arebored in a direction parallel to the surface of the plate, exceptingonly the front rib (Z2, which requires no holes, the plate D, is securedto the tuning block by screws c, c, c, and is provided with a lap e,projecting over the edge of the timing block and se* cured by screws c',c, c.

E, is the metallic plate and F, is the bridge, which are constructed andattached in the usual manner.

G, G, G, are the strings which are secured at one end to pins f, f, f,on the metallic plate E, the other ends of the strings are carried overthe ribs d, d, d, and passed through the holes l, l, l, in the ribsimmediately behind those they pass over, and are then attached to thetuning pins g, g, g, which are fitted in the tuning block in the usualmanner. The strings G, G, G, have a downward bearing on the upper edgesof the ribs d, cl, el, and an upward bearing on the upper side of theholes l, l, 1, by which means they bear firmly on the tuning block andwill produce a full, round, clear tone.

The above described arrangement of the tuning block is suitable for asquare pianoforte and is secured in the instrument in the usual manner.The plate D, might be -cast in one piece with the metallic plate E, ormay be cast separately as shown and described.

I claiml. The manner of constructing the tuning block substantially asherein described, of the arched slab A, and the back piece B, with thewedge or piece a, and the diagonal bolts or keys Z), Z), whereby it ismade capable of withstanding the great strain of the strings.

2. And I also claim the metal plate D,

bearing on the tuning block, which will make them produce L full, round,clear tone.

JOHN BUCK.

carrying the ribs (Z, d, d, projecting from i and forming part of it,the plate being uttached to the upper surface of the tuning i block,each of the strings of the instrument i passing over and resting on arib, and pass- Vitnesses:

O. D. MUNN, EL POLI-IAMUS.

ing through a hole in the rib immediately behind, whereby the stringsobtain a solid

